9-Day Dolomites Alta Via 1 Full Trek

Arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo (1,224m / 4,016') on your own and check into your hotel (private transfer available on request). Cortina d'Ampezzo is a charming alpine resort town surrounded by stunning peaks. Host to the 1956 Winter Olympics, Cortina enjoys a reputation for great skiing in winter, and in the summer attracts hikers and climbers who challenge the rocky faces of the nearby mountains. This chic Venetian town also caters to the high society crowd, offering many year-round social activities, shopping, and fine dining.

Depending on when you arrive, you may have time for a hike or to explore Cortina d'Ampezzo's pedestrian walkway, the Corso Italia, lined with restaurants and cafes, antique shops, art galleries, and boutiques.

If you are doing this trip as a self-guided adventure, you will meet with a local representative who will provide a trip briefing and orientation, as well as maps, and everything necessary for your self-guided adventure, typically around 6-7pm. Guided treks have their briefing tomorrow.

Meals included: n/a
Mid-Range Accommodations: Hotel Beppe Sello (Cortina)

For guided treks, you will meet with your guide who will provide a full trip briefing and orientation at 8:30am. Self-guided treks have a briefing the night before.

Starting at a beautiful alpine lake set amidst forest and soaring Dolomite peaks, this is a thrilling opening to Alta Via N.1. It entails a straightforward steady climb to a high-altitude plateau with wide reaching vistas.

Take a 50 minutes transfer to Lago di Braies (1,494m / 4,901') and start a 800m / 2,625' climb on a well-trodden path following a scree river colonized by dwarf mountain pines. Marvelous views open over Val Foresta and its peaks.

Enter the Natural Park of Dolomiti d'Ampezzo: the panorama is vast and breathtaking. Reach your home for tonight. There is an optional additional hike to the top of the Col di Lasta (2,997m / 7,536').

(~5 hours hiking, 13,3km / 8,3 miles, 1,179m / 3,871' ascent, 718m / 2,358' descent. Additional hike 2km / 1,2 miles, 210m / 689' ascent, 33m / 108' descent one way.)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Pederu

Departing your rifugio this morning, you’ll hike downhill towards Rifugio Pederù (1,548m / 5,079'). The trail travels on a steep dirt road for 40 minutes (the last part of the road approaching the rifugio is a 20% slope). From Rifugio Pederù, hike uphill in the direction of Lago di Limo. When you reach Lake Lé Piciodel you’ll hike through a charming landscape studded with little lakes and rounded mountain-tops along the Ru d’Al Plan River. At the fork, continue toward your rifugio for tonight. Located just beneath the Limo Pass, you’ll have a splendid view of the Tofane Mountains.

(~4 hours hiking 7,4km / 4,6 miles, 700m / 2,298' ascent, 599m / 1,966' descent.)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Fanes

Today is a lovely hike through the Altopiano di Fanes to the Lagazuoi Massif. You'll enjoy beautiful panoramas of the Western Dolomites and the Marmolada Massif, the "Queen of the Dolomites."

From your rifugio, Alta Via N.1 continues through the beautiful high meadow and karst formations, climbing to the Forcella del Lago, a narrow and dramatic gap in the mountain with a trail descent through steep talus on the south side. At the base of the slope is the lake called Lago di Lagazuoi whose green waters are framed by pines with a backdrop of the sheer walls of the Cima del Lago and the Cima Scotoni. From the lake, the path begins the long, steady climb to your rifugio. Entering open, rocky terrain, you will come across ruins from the First World War, en route to your rifugio, one of the highest in all the Dolomites (2,752m / 9,029'), with incredible 360-degree vistas.

(~6 hours hiking 11,5km / 7,2 miles, 1,121m / 3,679' ascent, 515m / 1,690' descent.)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Lagazuoi

This stage is of great interest for both the spectacular mountains around and the abundance of reminders of the terrible years of WWI, due to the vicinity of the former border between the long-dismantled Hapsburg Empire and Italy.

Hike a memorable traverse below the awesome Tofana di Rozes, ascending Forcella Lagazuoi (2,573m / 8,442'), Forcella Travenanzes (2,507m / 8,225') and Forcella Col dei Bos (2,331m / 7,648') and gradually descend along the line of trenches. Reach the main road that goes from Cortina to Passo Falzarego, cross it and climb through forests to the fascinating, renowned Cinque Torri area and its rifugios. From here the incredible vistas around, including the Pale di San Martino, Civetta, Monti del Sole and the Marmolada with its shrinking glacier. Take some time to relax, and in the afternoon descend to the south to Passo Giau and rand your rifugio for the night (2,236m / 7,336')

(~6-7 hours hiking 17.7km / 10.9 miles, 1,103m / 3,621' ascent, 1,541m / 5,058' descent, option for a shorter hike, using the Lagazuoi cable car, not included.)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Col Gallina

After breakfast, from your rifugio, pass a chapel, and begin to hike uphill to the rear of grassy Col Piombin, that takes its name from a past mining activity. The trail leads over the Forcella Giau (2,360m / 7,742') with plenty of ups and downs; here the views of the Tofana and Monte Cavallo are inspiring, not to mention the mountains on display to the south: Monte Fromin, Cernera, Pelmo and the upswept flank of Monte Mondeval.

Along the hike, you will have great views of the majestic Sorapiss, the unmistakable pyramid of Antelao and far off the Cadore Dolomites. All of a sudden, the Pelmo (3,168m / 10,394') will be incredibly close, and at this range it's easy to understand why it was dubbed 'Throne of the Gods'. The last part of the day leads below Pelmo's north face, (which is 1,006m / 3,300' straight up to the top) to your comfortable mountain Rifugio at Passo Staulanza (1,783m / 5,850'), your home for tonight.

(~ 5 hours hiking 12,5km / 7,8 miles, 487m / 1,597' ascent, 946m / 3,105' descent.)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Staulanza

Departing Passo Staulanza, you'll hike by several farms and join a popular trail that climbs to the shoulder of Monte Coldai, anchoring one end of the famous Monte Civetta. After stopping for lunch at Lago Coldai, continue to the Col Negro di Coldai that looks over at the towering west face of Monte Civetta. This "wall of walls" extends for over 4 miles (6km)! About midway past this wall, you climb to your rifugio, perched on mountaintop with views to the Val Civetta, down the Alleghe Valley and west to the Marmolada Glacier. This overnight stop is unforgettable.

(~5,5 hours hiking 10.8km / 6.7 miles, 1,130m / 3,707' ascent, 644m /2,113' descent)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Rifugio Tissi

From the rifugio, descend to the Val Civetta over the Col Rean, through beautiful, open, green meadows to the narrow valley of Val Corpassa. The route takes you right below the sheer rock faces of the Torre Venezia (2,337m / 7,667') and the Torre Trieste (2,458m / 8,064'), both rising some 600 meters (2,000') vertically from the valley floor. You may even get to see some climbers ascending these impressive towers! Pass by the Rifugio Vazzoler and ascend steeply through a dense forest to Forcella de l'Orso. Reach Forcella del Camp (1,933m / 6,341') and you will get the breathtaking spectacle of the Moiazza Sud. Continue hiking to the near Rifugio Bruto Carestiato (1,839m / 6,033'). Continue to Rifugio San Sebastiano, following a clear white gravel lane across pasture clearings and light wood (~40-minute hike). From Rifugio San Sebastiano you'll have your transfer back to Cortina.

(~7 hours hiking 15.6km / 8.4 miles, 983m /3,225' ascent, 1,649m / 5,410' descent)

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Hotel Beppe Sello (Cortina)

Breakfast and departure on your own (private transfer on request).

Meals included: Breakfast